ABHIPRAAY- Press Conference at Press Club,

(PRESS RELEASE)ABHIPRAAY is 12 years old NGO involved in Nation Building and opinion making and also strives for the all round empowerment of our society and the Nation. The Abhipraay has highlighted various socially relevant burning issues.In this connection “ABIPRAAY “ took up cudgels against “BEGGING” issue about 11 years back because it isolates human dignity. We filed petition before High Court of A.P., vide Writ Petition No.4356 of 2000. A professional beggory is a hazard to Society and the sight of pestering beggars is embarrassing to city as tourists both domestic and international visit our State. Begging must be eradicated from the Society from the point of view of dignity of individual and reputation of the city and State. A socio economic survey of beggars had been conducted by P.G.College of Social Work during 1993-1994 and revealed that, there are as many as 3,16,199 beggars in the state of A.P. The Hon’ble High court gave verdict in favour of Abipraay in its writ petition and ordered to take necessary steps for rehabilitation of beggars by the State Govt. It also ordered that the Govt. should establish and maintain morework Houses or special Homes where they find fit or may certify such institution or special House runs by other than Govt. A separate accommodation for Male and female should be provided . The Hon’ble High court also expressed thatState being a Welfare State, statutory obligation is cast upon the Govt. toimplement the provisions of the Act. The Act provides for two fold duties to be discharged by the State. First : To end the means of begging and for that purpose it can take recourse to even prosecuting the persons indulging in the acts of begging.Second: Rehabilitate the persons indulging in the acts of begging.The state must provide sustenance to physically inform , old, sick and abandoned persons who are forced to begging. At the same time the state should prosecute and eliminate professional beggory. The racket of beggoryinto which children both male and female are forced , must be stopped. Our continuous efforts and persuasion with Social Welfare Department, High court, intelligentsia, media and people brought their act into reality after about 11 years of struggle. In this connection, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has notified the prevention of Begging Rules, 2010,to implement the prevention of Begging Act. According to the rules begging, at public places such as streets, traffic junctions, bus station, railway stations including public transport like buses, railway etc, an offence and any authorized person can arrest without warrant. As per rules, if the beggar is an able bodied adult and staying with his family, the anti-beggar regulations will be enforced strictly and severely. The rules provides medical check-up by the doctor not below the rank of an assistant civil surgeon for determination of age, sex, physical fitness of the beggar. If the beggar is found guilty of the offence under Act and physically capable of doing ordinary manual labour, the court would order his detention in a work house for a specified period not exceeding three years. After completion of the term, the person has to given undertaking in writing that he would not commit such an offence under the Act. The Govt. directly or with help of recognized NGOs, would provide elementary education and training in arts and crafts, agriculture and poultry. The Govt. will also provide fixed quantity of coconut oil, soap, toothbrush and powder along with two sets of cloths and bedding. The district administration and local advisory committee will be responsible for the implementation of Begging Act. We “ABHIPRAAY” appreciate the Govt of A.P., to take this progressive state but our aim is not achieved unless all genuine beggars are rehabilitated and professional racket of beggary is eliminated.We expect the co-operation of people and media in this marathon task, Mr Mihir Shah General Secretary,Mr Suresh Pandit. Co-Ordinator,& Bhaskar Polumi,Advocate. also seen in the picture,(photo by RSJ Thomas)
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Rosaiah participated in 'yagam' to overcome problems

Hyderabad, May 1 : To overcome a series of crises he has been facing, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K. Rosaiah Saturday participated in a special 'yagam' here.Accompanied by his family members, the veteran Congress took part in the 'maha rudra yagam' at Sainathpuram in Malkajgiri area. Rosaiah's relatives and well wishers had organised the week-long 'yagam' to pray for the removal of hurdles in his governance. About 150 priests participated in the event. Amid the chanting of vedic hymns, Rosaiah and his family participated in the rituals. Saturday was the last of the 'yagam'. Ever since he took over as chief minister following the death of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Sep 2 last year, Rosaiah has faced a series of crises. It started with a campaign by the loyalists of the late leader who wanted to see his son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy as the chief minister. This was followed by unprecedented floods in the Krishna river. And just as the 78-year-old leader was trying to have a grip over his administration, the Telangana movement posed the biggest challenge to the government. For three months, protests for and against statehood to Telangana region engulfed the state. As the central government bailed out the state government by setting up the Srikrishna committee, Rosaiah, who also holds the finance portfolio, faced a new problem arising out of financial crunch. Falling revenues hit hard the welfare and development schemes. Rosaiah's attempts to convince the Congress leadership to allow him to reshuffle the cabinet has also failed. He continues with a team formed by his predecessor.
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